


Falling in Love Again

by mcgayverly



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:48:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29659908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgayverly/pseuds/mcgayverly
Summary: After successfully finding a newborn baby a safe home, Jack and Gibbs spend a cold winter's night together in his home.Based around season 16, episode 10 of ncis.
Relationships: Jethro Gibbs/Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane
Comments: 6
Kudos: 68





	Falling in Love Again

Gibbs and Jack leaned against the black SUV as Nick and Ellie brought the baby to his new family. Gibbs, arms crossed with a firm look on his face, watched as Ellie picked up the baby and handed him to his new mother. Jack inched closer to Gibbs, looking up at him and smiling before looking back to the family.

“Merry Christmas, Gibbs,” Jack said softly with a smile. She pressed her shoulder against him lightly. Gibbs smiled warmly and turned to face her. He settled one arm on the car and leaned closer to Jack.

“Merry Christmas to you, Jack. Still goin skiing?”

“It’s a little late now,” Jack said, looking forward. Turning to face him, she asked, “Why, got a better plan?”

“Nah, I was just thinking about that gift bottle you gave out.”

“Kentucky’s finest,” Jack said excitedly, a gleeful smile spreading across her face.

“Ohh?”

“Small batch,” she said, still smirking. 

Gibb cocked his head, still smiling at her. “I wanna crack that. Ya in?”

Jack nodded enthusiastically and laughed. Gibbs leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head, smelling a faint note of vanilla. His smile grew. He pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arm tightly around her shoulder. She leaned into his warmth, feeling safe in his arms.

Gibbs opened the door for Jack, letting her inside his house. A fire crackled in the living room and Jack rubbed her hands together, shivering. She began to take off her coat and Gibbs came up behind her, lifting it off her shoulders and hanging it up.

“Thanks,” she said, walking over to the fire to warm up.

Gibbs nodded, taking off his own coat. He watched her for a second, a small smile pulling at his lips. He walked around, turning on the lights and the TV. An old black and white western played quietly. Gibbs looked back to Jack, noticing she was still shivering.

“You’ll warm up in no time,” he said, rubbing his hands up and down her arms.

“Brrr! I hope so,” she said with a laugh.

He hovered for a second before jogging upstairs. He walked back into the living room with a sweatshirt in his hand. He offered it to Jack wordlessly. She looked up at him, the fire casting an orange glow over her face. Gibbs could have sworn he caught a twinkle in her eye.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“Mhmm,” he said with a nod.

Gibbs walked into the kitchen to grab some glasses and the scotch. He closed the cupboard door and turned around. He caught a glimpse of Jack’s back as she changed into the sweatshirt. He looked down, clearing his throat. Jack walked to the couch and sat down, curling up under a blanket. Gibbs walked in and sat next to her, tucking the blanket more firmly around her.

“You are gonna be blown away by this scotch. Believe me,” Jack said, steadying herself against Gibbs’ shoulder.

“Hope so.”

Gibbs poured two glasses and handed one to Jack. They clinked their glasses, looking into each other’s eyes before taking a sip. Jack looked expectantly at Gibbs, hoping he liked it.

“Yep, that’s good,” he said gruffly.

“Yes! I _knew_ you’d like it.”

Gibbs leaned back into the couch and arched his arm over Jack’s shoulder. She cuddled closer to him and they watched the old movie. After a while, Gibbs peeked over at Jack and saw her eyes closed. She breathed softly. He carefully lifted her unfinished drink from her hand and set it on the table. He slowly began to get up, holding her gently as he lay her down on the couch. He pulled the blanket up and tucked it around her. He stood there a moment and rubbed her arm gently. He leaned down and gave her a delicate kiss on her forehead, inhaling slightly to catch another whiff of her vanilla-scented hair. He then stood up and made his way to the basement.

Gibbs ran his hand along his boat and a fine mist of sawdust fell to the ground. He walked back to his shop desk to have another sip of his new scotch when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

“Hey, cowboy, it’s late. What are you still doing down here?” Jack said, a sleepy sound to her voice.

“Working down here helps me think.”

“About?” Jack asked.

Gibbs pulled up a stool for her to sit on. He leaned against the desk and crossed his arms, thinking for a moment.

“Nah, I was just thinking about that baby. I’m happy we were able to help him. And his mom.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Jack looked to Gibbs, trying to catch his eye.

“What else are you thinking about?”

Gibbs looked at Jack, then down to his drink, swirling it a bit.

“Agh, ya know. It’s just this time of year… and the baby… just got me thinking back.”

Gibbs sighed and rubbed his neck. Jack stood up to face him. 

“Thinking back… to your family? To Shannon and Kelly?”

Gibbs looked up from his drink, a sad expression on his face. He looked at Jack a moment, hesitating. He cleared his throat before continuing.

“Yeah,” he said softly. “We, uh, would go cut down the tree together. Kelly and I would build a snowman or throw snowballs."

Gibbs smiled and laughed softly. Jack smiled with him.

“We’d come back inside to the smell of sugar cookies. Shannon made em really good.”

Jack nodded and listened intently while Gibbs continued to smile.

“Anyway, we would decorate the tree together. One year, we all made ornaments. It was gonna be our new tradition that we did.”

Gibbs paused and looked up. Jack reached for his hand and interlaced her fingers with his. She took a step closer to him.

“Next Christmas and they were gone.”

Jack sighed and let go of his hand. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight. Gibbs stood stiffly for a moment before wrapping his arms around her too, resting his hand on the back of her head.

“I’m so sorry, Gibbs,” Jack said, her voice breaking slightly.

Gibbs just sighed and held onto her. He rubbed her back.

“Let’s get you back upstairs. It’s cold down here,” he said.

They went upstairs and sat back on the couch. Gibbs looked out the window to see heavy snow falling.

“Looks like you’re bunking here tonight. Roads aren’t safe,” Gibbs said.

Jack turned around and rested her arms on the back of the couch. She watched the snow flurry and whip in the wind. While she watched the snow, Gibbs watched her. His eyes traced the details of her face. Her blonde hair was illuminated by the orange glow of the fire while her face was lit by the pale white glow of the moon and snow. He admired her smile. And how she looked in his sweatshirt. She managed to radiate such warmth. Jack’s presence was the most comforting thing in the world to him. He never once believed that he would be able to feel this way again.

Jack broke her eyes away from the winter storm to look at Gibbs. He quickly looked away and she smiled widely.

“What were you looking at, Gibbs? What, is my hair messy?”

She smoothed her hair down and brushed it out of her face. Gibbs looked back to her.

“No, no,” he said, laughing. “Your hair looks good. You look good.”

Jack’s face softened at his sentiment. He cleared his throat and sat rigidly.

“Well, thank you. Your hair looks good too,” she joked.

Gibbs laughed and pulled her into his arms. They quietly watched the fire crackle and dance. They didn’t say anything, but they didn’t need to. Eventually, Gibbs fell asleep. Jack looked up at him. A smile slowly spread across her face. She picked up the blanket and draped it over both of them. She cuddled her head back into her favorite spot on Gibbs’ shoulder. With a yawn, she closed her eyes and let sleep overtake her. 


End file.
